True, but all economic claims should be taken with skepticism. That includes official stats. (As well as claims which fit our own preconceptions.) Simply look

True, but all economic claims should be taken with skepticism. That includes official stats. (As well as claims which fit our own preconceptions.) Simply look at the various official unemployment measures, and their underlying meanings. They may each be more or less "true", but interpreting them correctly in context is crucial. (For example, when the BLS emphasizes unemployment stats which don't count people who gave up hope of finding work, people are misled into using them.) Governments and corporations are interested actors. Their assertions feed back into their results. That filters down into their secular priesthoods of academics and PR flacks. People who believe them often find themselves flat-footed when reality rears its head, their mental models failing them.